Pirates - Next Generation
by 1221bookworm
Summary: Quick drabble of Cresswell with some munchkins around for the Pirates prompt for TLC Shipweeks 2017.


**_A/N: Just thought this might be a funny interpretation of the prompt – Cresswell with a few munchkins around. Of course, this takes place_** **many** ** _years in the future._**

 **Pirates – Cresswell Next Generation**

"I'm the lookout!" 9 year old Tabitha Thorne climbed up the ladder to the top bunk in one of the unused crew bedrooms on the Rampion.

"No fair! It was my turn. You were lookout last time." 7 year old Addie Thorne stomped her foot and glared up at her big sister.

"Uh uh. Last time I had to be the damsel in distress. This time I'm going to be the maiden ruling the world!" Tabitha struck an imposing pose with her foot on the pillow and her hands on her hips.

A pillow came hurtling up towards her, but with such bad aim that it barely cleared the bottom of the top bunk. 5 year old Damien Thorne stood in the doorway, a bandana tied sloppily over one half of his face and armed with a pillow in each hand. There was a trail of pillows behind him leading back down the hall. "I'm the mauderer coming to attack your ship!"

With a screech, Addie dived past him to attempt to regain some of his ammunition store. "I'm going to drive you out of my universe!" Her earlier fight with her sister forgotten, Addie clobbered her younger brother with pillows and tickles whenever he got close enough. Tabitha bounced on the top bunk, announcing when Damien was advancing too far into the room, and occasionally scrambling down to collect a few pillows for her own ammunition.

"Oh my stars, what's all this?" Captain Carswell Thorne stood in the doorway surveying the 'damage'.

"Sea monster!" Tabitha screamed a warning, and Addie and Damien turned as one, sending a volley of cushioned missals, aided by Tabitha attempting to drop them on his head.

Thorne dropped to his knees and in two seconds had collected both Addie and Damien in his arms. "I'm going to swallow you both whole – "

With a war cry, Tabitha descended the bed and attempted to pull herself up Thorne's back.

"What is going on here?" Growing up on a satellite by herself, Cress was unaccustomed to how loud and physical the children's games often were.

Thorne stood up to face her, holding a child on each side, with Tabitha still hanging on his shoulders, and grinning like an idiot.

"We're playing pirate, Mama." Tabitha finally scrambled down to run over to her mother. "I was the ship lookout, and Addie was defending my ship from Damien who was attacking. And then Papa came in and he was the sea monster so we all joined forces to save all our skins." She turned back to her brother and sister, still attached to Thorne. "That means we have to be allies now because we defeated the big bad sea monster together."

Addie and Damien let out resounding cheers, and Thorne mocked dropping them, but after they were settled safely on the ground, he squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears with both hands.

When they were done, he picked up one hand and opened one eye. "Is it safe?"

"Of course it is, Papa. You can be Papa again instead of the sea monster."

"How kind of you." Thorne straightened up, and began tugging his clothes into order. "I have a question for you: how come I was a sea monster?"

"Because pirate ships sail the _ocean_ Papa." Obviously, Addie was ever so much smarter than her father. "Mama read all about them to us yesterday." She nodded firmly.

Thorne deflated, and Cress chuckled. "There's pirates even today."

"And not all of them have _water_ ships." The word _water_ was dripping with disgust. "Some of the have very nice spaceships, thank you very much."

There was a collective gasp. "Were you a pirate, Papa?" Awed silence waited for the answer.

"Did you have an eyepatch?" Damien pointed at his own homemade version.

"Well, I'd like to say that I was not a marauding pirate – instead, I was helping to save the world. And yes, I was blind. I had to wear a bandana over both eyes all the time."

Cress threw up her hands as the children devoured Thorne's tale. It wasn't as if they hadn't heard it before. Over a hundred times.

"And so, with my eyesight returned, we landed our _SPACE_ ship on Luna and fought our way all the way to the capitol and defeated the evil queen." His eyes softened as he turned to look at Cress. "We just made it out by the skins of our teeths." Thorne grabbed them all into playful hugs again. "But we just wanted to make the world a better place…"

"And get rich and famous." Tabitha, Addie, and Damien all chirped in together. Cress rolled her eyes. Obviously she was going to have to come up with better bedtime stories.

Thorne grinned at his small brood. "The riches and fame _are_ quite nice, aren't they? But I'll tell you something that was even more important to me at the time – making your mother fall in love with me."

There was a collective "aww".

"I wouldn't believe him, if I were you." She addressed the children, but she watched Thorne's reaction out of the corner of her eye. "He was still just trying to steal my heart."

Thorne spluttered, but before he could respond, Cress sent the children off to wash up for dinner.

"I didn't say I objected to your theft, Captain." Cress stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. "But if we are being completely _accurate_ with the children, you managed to steal my heart long before you ever meant to. So in that case, I think _Pirate_ is an exceptionally accurate description."

Thorne grinned and happily leaned closer. "Then let me steal another kiss."


End file.
